2. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to a method and apparatus for front-mounted spare tire/wheel assemblies. It pertains more particularly to a method and rack for mounting a spare tire/wheel assembly on a snowplow headgear located at the front of a pickup truck or similar type utility vehicle.
2. Description of Prior Art
The use of a front-mounted tire rack is known in the prior art. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,482,749 to Cooper and 4,989,765 to Huebner are fairly representative of the art illustrating a front-mounted rack. Such front-mounted carriers and/or racks often suffer numerous drawbacks associated with their design and their various methods of attachment. Heretofore, the racks required that the tire/wheel assembly support structures be attached to the vehicle bumper, frame and/or grill support structures.
While the frame is a secure mounting location, it is often awkward to implement. Grill and bumper attachments, while much more convenient for installation/removal purposes, are not at all secure. Over the long haul, such front mount-approaches suffer from rattles, instability, metal fatigue and serious attachment deficiencies.
Additional problems are faced if one seeks to use a front-mounted tire/wheel assembly on vehicles equipped with a snowplow unit. This invention represents a solution to such problems by putting the snowplow headgear to work as a solid and reliable support base.
To fully understand the present invention it is necessary to, at least casually, be familiar with the actual structure and operation of a snowplow's headgear. A snowplow headgear is a bulky steel structure that requires several large bolts to securely fasten the front-mounted headgear proper to several frame mounted supports under the vehicle. The headgear is in line with the frame and is equipped at its forward end with a snowplow blade. The headgear under the vehicle is adapted with pushplates that absorb and handle the large snow load forces against the blade.
Several different popular types of snowplow units are currently available. In all of them, however, the headgear has essentially vertical "U" or "O"-shaped uprights and horizontal structural member(s) in front of the vehicle's grill in order to provide a secure mounting location for a snowplow blade and a power blade lifting mechanism. The lifting of the blade is commonly done by a hydraulically or electrically operated ram or motor.
A ram's function is to lift the blade, hold it at a desired height and then, using gravity and the weight of the blade, lower the blade. An operator within the vehicle controls the lifting and releasing of a hydraulic lock created in the ram. In the art, the ram is often called a "lift cylinder" and it will sometimes be referred to in that manner in this application.
Several well known ram driving systems of the hydraulic type are in common use. Such systems require connections to the vehicle's engine and dashboard control levers by a series of mechanical and/or electrical cables. Either engine driven or electric driven hydraulic pumps are mounted in the engine compartment or sometimes on the headgear itself.
In any event, electrical cables also run between the vehicle and the snowplow lights. Additional headlight control switches are also installed within the cab. The operator manipulates these various controls, in a well known manner, to control the snowplow blade and lights during snow removing operations.
Headgear, regardless of type of manufacture, is awkward to install and remove. Furthermore, if removed it must also be stored. Thus, as a practical matter, for a large majority of instances, the headgear, once installed, is left in place on the vehicle throughout the summer months. In distinction, however, the snowplow blade is relatively easy to remove and re-install.
One typical popular model of a snowplow unit is manufactured by Fisher Engineering P.O. Box 529, Rockland Me. A copy of the owner's manual for such a Fisher snowplow is submitted herewith since it covers in detail the description and operation of a snowplow headgear which is useful for receiving the tire mount tire/wheel assembly of this invention. Applicant herewith incorporates by reference pages 3 through 10 of the attached owner's manual, as though those designated pages were set forth in full at this point in this application.
Having briefly reviewed the structure and operation of a typical snowplow unit, it now can be seen that several obstacles stand in the path of successfully employing a front-mounted tire rack on a vehicle equipped with a snowplow headgear. First, the headgear must be removed to clear a location for the front-mounted rack. As seen, such removal is both complex and time-consuming.
Next, removal of snowplow headgear involves cutting and/or disconnecting several mechanical and/or electrical connections, hydraulic lines and removing various pins, bolts and nuts. Generally speaking it normally takes an one hour or longer to accomplish this removal. More time is involved if, as is sometimes the case, electrical lines must be cut, spliced and fitted with suitable connectors.
Moreover, each time a conversion from snowplow to spare tire rack (or vice-a-versa) is required, the numerous connection/removal problems reappear. Additionally, it is always necessary to store the removed structure. In summary then, the time lost and inconvenience involved with these conversions largely offsets whatever usefulness the front-mounted tire racks of the prior art may have offered.
The invention, however, allows simple and easy installation and removal of a front-mounted tire/wheel assembly on a snowplow headgear. Moreover, the front-mounted tire rack of this invention has a unity mounting post and tire/wheel bracket that allows the entire spare tire rack (with spare tire still mounted) to be removed as a single unit. In summary, therefore, this invention teaches and claims, for the first time, a new and novel method and apparatus for a front-mounted tire rack on a snowplow headgear.